This urban tale features an intriguing hero, albeit one hampered by unnecessary details.
In this YA novel, a teenager grows up in a tough inner city.
Thirteen-year-old Naz Andersen lives in a part of the city known as the Exclave, a place filled with the nightly sounds of “a dog barking relentlessly, sporadic gunfire, sirens in the distance.” Living in foster care with his little sister, Meridian “Meri” Liberty Slaughter, Naz endures a life full of trials and peculiarities. A lover of chess, his own hair, and dreaming, Naz often sleepwalks at night and hears voices during the day. While Naz gets therapy to attempt to sort out such issues, he is not so sure it is working. The Exclave is, after all, not the ideal location for teenage introspection. Living in a place awash with “incessant violence,” Naz and his friend Ham become wounded in an altercation with gang members. Although Naz’s injury is not serious, he is haunted by the interaction, particularly as it proves to not be his last confrontation. Meanwhile, Naz hopes Meri will enter the prestigious International Academy, a “private school outside of the Exclave.” Will Naz and Meri manage to transcend their circumstances? While the idea of a place like the Exclave is not particularly inventive, Naz makes for an imaginative protagonist. As Winston’s (IA: B.O.S.S., 2015) book progresses, Naz uncovers more that sets him apart from his peers, including revelations about his past and his potential for the future. His journey of self-discovery is, however, slowed by extraneous information. Naz manages to make some money by transporting goods among local stores (known as the Market Merchants) to ensure needed items are in stock. It is a job that proves no more fascinating to read about than to accomplish, particularly as the reader is told how Naz came up with such an occupation, ending with the summation that four stores “hired Naz as a supply link to make sure they stayed supplied through the sharing of resources and settling up once a week.” Of much greater interest is a teenager who, despite his love of chess, won’t play for the school team because “it’s too easy.” Will such a boy one day escape from the Exclave and what will he be like when he does?
This urban tale features an intriguing hero, albeit one hampered by unnecessary details.Pub Date: March 17, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-9916091-0-9
Page Count: 218
Publisher: Purple Ash Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 8, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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